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Top 30 Computer Science and Programming Blogs 2014

By Benjamin Hicks

A major in computer science and programming opens many lucrative doors. Many of these students become software engineers and programmers at one of the many technological companies throughout the country. Others find computational theory attractive. Graduate degrees strengthen students’ skills, increasing their value to employers. Since the field is rapidly advancing, many blogs have sprung up to address all aspects of the field. But which ones are the best to read and why? This list of thirty blogs represents a diverse array of perspectives on computer science, programming, computational theory, and the intersection of computer science with contemporary issues such as education, women in the sciences, business, and many more.

General Computer Science and Programming

1. Communications of the ACM: More than a blog, Communications of the ACM is an entire online publication dedicated to all aspects of computing and information technology. Both blog entries and news articles are posted directly on the site, but the blogroll contains links to other blogs that may be of interest to the aspiring programmer.Highlight:Those who say Code Does not Matter

2. Gödel’s Lost Letter and P=NP: This blog is devoted to the specific question of P = NP in the theory of computing. The entries are more accessible to a lay audience than the standard academic journal article while remaining rigorous and technical.Highlight:Shifts in Algorithm Design

5. Matt Might: No list of blogs would be complete without to Matt Might’s collection of articles. These articles are published as a list under various headings such as functional programming. They cover a range of topics from the pragmatic concern of an aspiring student to more technical treatments of programming languages, all in accessible language.Highlight:What Every Computer Science Major Should Know

7. The Endeavor: John Cook is a former math professor and programmer who has transitioned into consulting. Pragmatic and accessible, this blog gives the reader a sense of how they might combine their programming skills with business and apply those skills to solve real world problems.Highlight:Classical Programming

11. Coding Horror: Jeff Atwood describes his current projects and interests in computer science and programming. His somewhat infrequent posts generate extensive discussion in the coding community. The blog recently celebrated its ten year anniversary.Highlight:10 Years of Coding Horror

14. Terry Tao’s Blog: Terry Tao is a mathematician whose work is frequently relevant for computer scientists and computational theorists. Most of the posts are highly technical mathematical demonstrations that are not accessible to layman. This makes his blog an intellectually challenging but fruitful endeavor for the serious student of computer science or mathematics.Highlight:Derived Multiplicative Functions

17. Young Female Scientist: Although infrequently updated, this academic blog chronicles experiences of sexism in the sciences. It also surveys scientific systems and the general psychological challenges of completing advanced degrees and publishing.Highlight:Oh, Nevermind Me.

18. Bit-Player: Despite claiming to be the thoughts of an amateur on computation and mathematics, author Brian Hayes is, in fact, a senior Writer for Scientific American. The blog focuses on computation and mathematics.Highlight:The Pi Man

19. Bits and Pieces: This blog belongs to Harry Lewis, the Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard University. Although mostly a personal blog with musings on many different subjects, Lewis frequently comments on the intersection between computer science and programming and the academic, political and business worlds.Highlight:The Outsized Influence of Harvard Computer Science

21. Computer Science Teacher: This blog presents the personal perspective of Alfred Thompson on teaching computer science in the K-12 curriculum. It includes fun thoughts on coding problems, announcements of competitions, and a survey of recent interesting news coming from computer and technological companies.Highlight:Fun With Code Monkeys

22. Knowing and Doing: This blog comes from Eugene Wallingford at the University of Northern Iowa. Blog posts are relatively short musings, sometimes containing nothing more than a quotation that Eugene found interesting. In addition to computing and software development, Knowing and Doing also includes posts on teaching computer science and on its use in business and management.Highlight:September Monthly Archives

25. Treehouse Blog: Treehouse blog is one of the best blogs for a student looking to learn directly from the web. The authors introduce themselves as teachers and their posts frequently contain step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish computing tasks. These tasks include building websites, coding, and help in understanding popular phone operating systems such as iOS and Android.Highlight:New Course: Modular CSS with Sass

29. Teach Computing: Teach Computing is dedicated entirely to the subject of how to teach computing in the K-12 system. Although the blog is relatively recent and receives infrequent new posts, the blog posts address common pedagogical problems and offer insight in how to become better teachers.Highlight:Do Girls Prefer to Code in Groups?